In the Nick of Time
by Uncle Charlie
Summary: Written for Element Flash - it's a very strange day at the zoo and it's up to Sapphire and Steel to fix things before they get too carried away and Time is changed for good.


Prompt - a day at the zoo

 _What is this place, Sapphire? I have the strange sense that we've been here before._

 _It's called a zoo. Animals that might otherwise in be jeopardy in the wild are placed here. It is also a place for people to come and see animals that they might not otherwise be able to view._

 _There are cages._

 _Yes._

 _That doesn't seem quite the ideal situation for the animals that would otherwise be roaming free._

 _Steel, you sound like a conservationist. The current movement is to move the animals from the cages into situations that more closely resemble their native habitats._

 _I just know what it's like to be kept in a cage, no matter how attractive the packaging. Why are we here?_ A loud roar interrupted him and the ground shook as a large dinosaur walked by them. "What is that?"

"An allosaur and the reason we are here."

 _ **All irregularities will be handled by the forces controlling each dimension; Transuranics heavy**_

 _ **elements may not be used where there is life. Medium atomic weights are available: Gold, Lead,**_

 _ **Copper, Jet, Diamond, Radium, Sapphire, Silver, and Steel.**_

 _ **Sapphire and Steel have been assigned.**_

"A dinosaur? Didn't they go extinct a few million years ago?"

"And thereby the rub. For some reason, all the animals in this zoo have reverted to their primordial state. The elephants have become mastodons, the big cats have de-evolved back into Miacids, small herbivores, which later spilt into two lines, one giving us bears and dog, the other cats, hyenas, and mongooses. That was about fifty five million years ago."

"And that?" Steel indicated the allosaur as it made quick work of a slow zoo guest."

"Birds. I suspect the aviary is a mess at the moment."

The dinosaur finished chewing and slowly approached them, its head cocked.

 _Steel, lower your core a few degrees_ Sapphire stepped behind him and shivered as Steel grew cold. The dinosaur sniffed them, the strength of its breath ruffling Steel's hair. Then it turned and moved off.

"What just happened?" Steel craned his head to look back at her.

"Allosaurs hunt much like Tyrannosaurs in that they sense motion and body heat. Since we had neither, it doesn't recognize us as a potential food source. Thank you for that cold shoulder." She kissed Steel's cheek.

"I suspect we'd cause him much indigestion, not to mention being impossible to chew, Steel said as they resumed walking, taking care to stay off the paths. "Time has found a way to bend itself here?"

"And every animal or person eaten is altering the established timeline. Time is, in short, rewriting itself at a substantial rate. I don't need to explain those consequences. Man and dinosaur were not meant to cohabitate, except possibly in Hollywood movies."

"How do we take it back?"

"We have to find the initial tear, Steel. Repair that and the rest will revert."

"That sounds easy enough. And the consequential deaths to this point?"

"By fixing the problem, we put Time back as it was."

Steel paused to study a large map. "With hopefully no ugly side effects. And all we have to do is find what might be nothing more than a microscopic tear in 4,300 acres."

"When you put it like that, it sounds so easy." Sapphire watched as the allosaur confronted a mastodon. "That's not going to end well. Where do we start?"

"Which of the species existing here now is the oldest?"

"I would estimate the miacids, although the birds started to evolve around the same time."

"Then that would be as good a place to start. Is the time shift limited to the zoo?"

"For the moment, yes, but this is hardly a typical day at the zoo." People ran by screaming and waving their hands as a small group of dinosaurs, no bigger than a turkey chased them.

"As I'm sure anyone here will attest." Steel consulted the map again. "Where is the… ah, you said these miacids, eventually became the big cats?"

"And bears, dogs, and even mongooses."

"Incredible." Steel pointed to a spot in red on the map. "The cats are located here, so you take them." He indicated another spot, this one in green. "I will take the man-eating birds. Report anything unusual… more unusual than the current reality."

"Be careful, Steel. We don't know what else might be waiting."

"And you."

Steel had frequently heard Time described as a fabric, but he'd never taken it to literally mean like a piece of cloth. He'd thought it a metaphor, so the ten foot long tear came nearly as much of a surprise as did the flock of velociraptors that were protecting it. Thankfully, he had two things in his favor – he was basically steel with human dressing and he could get very cold, very fast.

He tossed one of the frozen creatures back through the gap and stood back. There was no change. The other two followed and the opening was as before.

Reaching out, he touched part of it and that spot closed. Smiling with an uncharacteristic grin, he sealed the rest of the tear.

 _Sapphire?_

 _Yes, Steel?_

 _It's done. I've repaired the gap. The situation should right itself now._

Sapphire watched the small creatures as they perched on a rock. _Somehow, I hope not. I'm in the middle of the lions' enclosure._

 _Get out of there._

 _Nothing has happened, Steel. They are as before._

 _That's good news, but bad news. That means –_

 _That was a red herring._

Steel looked down at his clothes, tattered from the velociraptor attack, and in an instant, they had replaced themselves with a light grey suit. _Stay there, I am coming._

Sapphire exited the enclosure and moved into an observation room, overlooking the pit. In the center of the room, a tiny shimmer caught her eye. "Another trick?"

The shimmer seemed to undulate in response. Sapphire stepped away from the spot and settled back against the railing to watch it.

 _Sapphire?_

"I'm here, Steel," she called to him. "But be careful how you come. Take the west entrance and stay against the edge."

In a few moments, he entered and looked around for her. Spotting his partner, he started to cross.

"STOP!" She both shouting mentally and physically at him and he froze in place. "Can you see it?"

Steel looked puzzled at her. "See what, Sapphire?"

"There is a spot about five feet in front of you. Can't you see the difference?"

"No."

"Perhaps it's only visible this way. Come around by the railing."

He did as requested and nodded as he approached her. "Interesting. What would have happened had I walked through it?"

"Unknown, but I wasn't willing to risk you to find out."

"I'll be right back."

In a few minutes, Steel returned with two miacids, held by the scruff of their necks. The creatures writhed and squirmed in his grip, making high-pierced squeals.

"Steel, what are you going to do?"

"This." He tossed one of the creatures through from his side. The creature landed and scurried away. Then he moved to Sapphire's side and tossed the creature into the shimmer. There was a squeal, then a roar and a fully grown male lion was staring at them.

"That was brilliant, Steel."

"Perhaps I didn't think it through fully." The lion charged and Steel shoved Sapphire behind him, bracing for the attack.

Instead, they were standing by the information map again. Steel took a deep breath and caught Sapphire's hand to kiss it. "If I ever said one word against you about becoming my partner, I take it all back."

People paid them little attention as they went along their way. "That's very kind… Steel, look."

"Yes, I see people enjoying their visit to the zoo… Where are the dinosaurs?" Faintly there was a shudder and a scream. "Ask not for whom the bell tolls. What happened?"

"I don't know."

Steel snapped his fingers. "I think I do. You, Sapphire. You caused the tear."

"No, I found it."

"I think we are part of this anomaly."

"You said you felt as if we'd been here before."

"What if we had and our presence, your time-shifting abilities is what started the process?"

"But… how do we break the loop, then."

"How far back can you take us?"

"It doesn't matter. I suspect it is the mere fact that I took time back."

"What if we stepped back through the tear?"

"I don't know. The miacid reverted back into the lion. Perhaps we would revert back to our original state?"

"Remember, we are evolved, not devolving."

"What would be our next state?"

"No idea. Shall we find out?"

"What if it doesn't work? What if it's another trap?"

"Then you stay here and I will go through. That way if it is, take time back and we'll rethink the plan."

They stood before the shimmer and Sapphire caught his hand. "Steel, I'm afraid for you."

"Don't be. I'm afraid enough for both of us." He kissed her cheek and smiled. He shook free of her grasp and stepped through the shimmer. He cried out and stumbled away from the shimmer.

"Steel?"

"I'm… stay there." He shut his eyes and concentrated. "I'm somewhat altered on a molecular level, but otherwise unchanged. His smile was a little shaky and he held out his hand. "Come to me, Sapphire."

Nodding, she swallowed and stepped through the stream, but nothing happened. "Steel?"

He went around to the other side and shook his head. "The tear is gone. I'm not sure what happened." He stopped and looked out at the lions as they lounged on the rocks, sunning themselves. "Just a typical day at the zoo." He caught her hand and pulled her closer so she could watch the animals. "Now let's see what happens."

For a long time they stood unmoving as people wandered by, children cried out in delight as one of the big cats approached the glass. "It's as it should be," Steel said as they watched people and felines interact.

"Then let's move from this place, perhaps pay a visit to the gift shop."

"The gift shop, Sapphire?"

"Suddenly, I have a strong urge for a keepsake from this place. And then perhaps a walk to another location, one far from here."

"Perfect." And slowly they merged with the visitors to the park, content to bide their time… this time.


End file.
